


Thief

by DreamingOf4A



Series: The story of a champion [3]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: 2012 Japan Nationals, Antis, Depression, Federation Politics, Gen, Mood Swings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 11:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18141344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamingOf4A/pseuds/DreamingOf4A
Summary: "Initially Yuzu had been too busy being happy that he’d won, but then the crowd reaction registered."





	Thief

**Author's Note:**

> Just a warning: I did not do a close research for this part, so I don't actually remember if the things I mentioned are actual facts. I also don't really know what happened behind closed doors, so it's all speculation. But there IS a lot of speculation on this particular event and I believe it might have been a defining moment in Yuzu's career. And as the story flowed quickly, I didn't want to stop it to check the facts. ^_^;

_Disclaimer: This story is fiction and does not in any way reflect on the real life people that share their names with these characters. It is also not intended to offend or disrespect and it exists simply because I find it really interesting to imagine how other people - potentially - live their lives._

He gritted his teeth.

He was still a teenager, so mood swings were not unfamiliar, but he could not remember ever going from ecstasy to agony in such a short time. He felt a bit like he’d gotten emotional whiplash.

A few minutes earlier he’d achieved the impossible.

He’d won the All Japan Championship in front of Japan’s Ace and Olympic medalist Daisuke Takahashi.

He’d beaten his sempai.

On said sempai’s home turf.

Oh, he knew it wasn’t perfect and Brian had already indicated what he still needed to work on. The margin for victory had been very, very small. And yet, he’d won.

Few people could understand what this victory did for him.

It was a validation of all his efforts. That they had not been in vain. All his hard work before and especially after the earthquake. Moving to Canada and all the sacrifices involved. His own additional sacrifices that the decision to dedicate his life to figure skating had brought along.

Brian seemed to understand, despite the still pretty solid language barrier between them. He’d been genuinely happy for Yuzu and said multiple times how proud he was. Yuzu had to admit that hearing it felt good, especially since their first weeks training together had seemed disappointing on both sides. But even when Brian pointed out ways to improve, he never failed to show appreciation for the result and the effort.

However, Brian had also seemed a bit worried and Yuzu hadn’t understood why until after the final results.

Initially Yuzu had been too busy being happy that he’d won, but then the crowd reaction registered.

It hadn’t been outright booing, but they had been obviously unhappy. For all that they had shown him the usual courtesy and support that Japanese skating fans showed all skaters, now their silence spoke louder than if they actually had booed.

But while that had made him sad, he’d also found it a bit of a challenge. 

He would work hard to never have them doubt his right to win and to become a great skater that they could not help but like and support.

What had sent him spiraling down to depression had been staff comments.

Volunteers muttering angrily behind his back while being falsely courteous to his face.

Federation staff glaring at him as if he’d skated up behind Takahashi and stolen the gold medal from around his neck.

Even Kobayashi-san had looked grim, though that was likely because she had already realized the magnitude of the backlash against him within the federation and was feeling sorry for him.

The worst moment had been when the president came, gave him a look over and then made a disgusted sound, before turning away to give Takahashi a hug. She’d actually apologized to him. As if to say “we don’t know how this kid managed to steal the gold from you”.

Of course, Yuzu knew better than to believe he’d be universally accepted and loved.

Of course, he’d dealt with some bullying in school, too and knew how not being liked felt.

Of course, he’d known that coming from Sendai rather than Nagoya or Osaka, he wouldn’t get political backing.

But he’d always thought working hard would make up for that.

Just like working hard had made up for not having healthy lungs.

It sucked, but if he just worked a bit harder, it wouldn’t make a difference.

He had never, however, been snubbed quite so publicly or had someone been so rude to him to his face.

He had never felt the bite of the political war before.

Takahashi didn’t really congratulate him either. Not like he had done the previous times they’d shared a podium.

Yuzuru understood the pain of losing and he imagined it was worse for Takahashi, as he was Japan’s Ace. But he’d always believed being courteous to your rivals and admitting defeat by congratulating the man or men who beat you was all part of the learning process and the moving forward, aiming to be better and do better next time.

But while he respected his sempai, Takahashi not congratulating him wasn’t that big a deal. Especially not compared to the federation officials’ behavior, especially the president. 

And especially not compared to all the whispers calling him a thief.

They rang in his head throughout the podium preparation and the podium ceremony. He wasn’t even sure if they still came or they were just in his head by then, but he heard them and with each one he gritted his teeth harder and tried even harder to control his temper.

As the silence during the ceremony continued, with only those whispers breaking it, whether real or imagined, it was all he could do not to throw the trophy to the ice and tell them all to go fuck themselves.

Yes, he’d won by a small margin and yes, maybe overall, Takahashi had done better over both programs, more balanced, but he himself had done a fantastic short, even if the free still needed work and his programs were more difficult and deserved better points. So, better luck next time and if they didn’t like it, they could just bite him while he enjoyed adding that gold medal to his collection.

Luckily he had more self control than that, but he was even angrier when he felt tears prickle his eyes as he walked away from the podium.

Brian tried asking him what happened and what were people saying, but Yuzu didn’t want answer him. He did not want to acknowledge it enough to put it into words.

Later that evening, though, Brian knocked on his hotel room door and asked to speak to him.

It became quickly obvious that Brian had either asked someone else or simply guessed from the tone and behavior.

Yuzu didn’t understand every word, but he understood the overall message as Brian talked to him about politics, about the pressures of being a challenger and those of being a top skater for a big federation, about people being hateful and envious and fans being vicious, not to even mention the media. He also talked about how both he and Tracy knew about these things and that Yuzu can trust them to help. How the cricket club can be his safe haven where these things cannot touch him, but that he also has to help himself by ignoring these things and steering clear of the hatred.

“Don’t google yourself, stay away from social media and ignore it all. Paying attention to it is a waste of your energy, because it will upset you. It’s only natural.”

Yuzu nodded. He understood what Brian said. He had his own way of doing things, but he acknowledged the wisdom of Brian’s advice and mentally swore to always keep it in mind. Even if he didn’t always act accordingly.

Then Brian stood up.

“You won today. A win is a win, no matter what. There’s still work to do, but you won and it’s a great victory. The best man in both programs wins in figure skating and for this competition, that was you. Enjoy it and don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

Yuzu smiled and gave Brian a shy hug.

“Thank you, Brian!”

Thinking about it, he suspected politics might have been another reason why Nanami-sensei had encouraged him to go train abroad.

But now, with Brian as his coach and Cricket Club as his home rink, he felt confident enough he could take on anything anyone threw at him.

They could try to tear him down, but he had bigger goals to achieve. No way would he let such things get in the way!


End file.
